Crush
by mistymidnight
Summary: Ten-year-old Dawn gets a crush on Xander...and the only person who can relate is the one who shares the feeling. ((Little Dawn fic--season two))
1. Dawnie's First Crush

**Title: **Crush

**Author: **mistymidnight.

**Rating: **PG

**Timeline/Spoilers: **Early season two, BEFORE Dawn and Joyce knew about Buffy being the Slayer.

**Disclaimer: **Well…I'm running out of cute comments to make here. They're not mine.

**Summary: **Ten-year-old Dawn gets a crush on Xander…and the only person who can relate is the one who shares the feeling.

**Dedication: **To Jessica—bumf! (Not a typo.) 

                     And to gidgetgirl—thanks for the idea!

**Author's Notes: **As requested by gidgetgirl, here it is! Little Dawnie's first crush! (Awww!)

Crush 

            Dawn Summers sat at the counter eating Saltines. Technically, she wasn't supposed to be out of bed, or off the couch if you wanted to be specific, but Mom was in the shower, most likely getting rid of Dawnie germs, and Buffy wasn't home from school yet. 

            Dawn's stomach started to hurt again, and she took the box of Saltines back with her to the couch. Settling down and pulling the blanket over herself, she picked up the television remote and changed the channel. She'd been watching "Educational Programming". She thought the daytime programs were boring and childish, and she could never understand what people on soap operas were talking about. If they all hated each other so much, why didn't they just not date each other? It sure would make things a lot simpler.

            _There should be a TV channel with cool shows all day long, _Dawn thought, _and they should call it the "Sick Kids Who Have To Stay At Home All Day" Channel. Or not._

            She checked the time on the VCR. It was two fifty-two. Darn it, she'd have to wait a whole eight minutes before all the good shows came on. 

            Dawn hated being sick.

            She heard voices from outside and tried to twist on the couch to look out the window, but it made her want to throw up again. She grabbed for her ginger ale. Mom had put it in a sippy cup. As embarrassing as it would be to be eleven years old and drinking out of a sippy cup, Dawn didn't mind very much. It was a comfort when she was sick, much like the way she'd never eat Saltines on a regular day.

            The front door opened and Buffy came in with Willow and Xander. Dawn actually didn't see very much of them; Buffy didn't share much about her life with Dawn and Mom. Especially her boyfriend, Angel. Dawn had never met him, but Buffy was always writing about him in her diary. (Which, yes, Dawn made a habit out of reading.) It made Dawn kind of wish she had a boyfriend too, but boys in her class were disgusting and immature. If they weren't sticking things up their noses, they were pelting other kids with things that had once been stuck up their noses. Dawn didn't remember the boys in L.A. being so gross. Maybe because she thought it was funny, too, when she was younger.

            "Hi, Dawnie. Feeling better?" Willow asked her best friend's little sister. _Poor Dawnie. She looks so miserable._

            "A little," Dawn lied, trying to be cool for her sister's friends. She didn't know them all that well. They were nice enough, though.

            Buffy, of course, had no sympathy for her younger sister. She turned to her friends. "Maybe we shouldn't have come over here. I don't want you guys to get what Dawn's got."

            "Aren't you going to ask me how I feel?" Dawn demanded of her sister. "I'm sick. Mom said it was bad. I could have _died, _and you don't even care." Okay, so it was a little melodramatic. It got Buffy's attention, though.

            "Dawnie," she said, "I've seen enough death to know what it looks like. You've just got the flu."

            "Right, I'm sure you see death all the time. You're the _Slayer._"

            Buffy's head snapped up. Willow and Xander looked a little panicked.

            "I don't know what you're talking about."

            "You don't know what you're talking about, either. You shouldn't write stories in your diary. People will think you're a nutso."

            Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. _Good, she doesn't know._ "You're right Dawnie. I shouldn't." Then what Dawn had said hit her. "You READ MY _DIARY_???"

            "Umm, no?"

            Buffy glared at her sister. "We'll talk later," she said menacingly. She turned to Willow and Xander. "Back to what I was saying before, maybe we should go."

            "Nah," Xander said good-naturedly, plopping down on the other end of the sofa. "If Dawn's got it, it's probably going around. We'll all get it sooner or later." He turned to Dawn. "Anything good on?"

            Buffy gave him a look. "Come on, Xander," she said. "I really don't want you getting it. Dawn gets sick all the time. It's probably not 'just going around'. She's probably the first in the whole state to get it."

            "I don't—" Xander began.

            "Listen," Buffy told him. "Here in the Summers house we have a saying. A saying that goes, 'Flu season starts with Dawn.' We really ought to go."

            Xander gave in. "O—kay," he sighed, following Buffy out of the living room. "Bye, Dawn."

            "Bye," Dawn said rather dreamily. _Xander's great, _she thought. 

 No one picked up on Dawn's tone except the redhead who was still standing in the doorway.

                                                            *            *            *

            Dawn sat sullenly at school. She'd been out for a week with the flu and she'd missed a lesson on long division, a test on George Washington's Army, and a science project called "The Solar System." Her teacher was making her stay at after-school tutoring to make it up. Dawn frowned again. Tutoring. She was the best student in her class; she didn't belong in tutoring. Unfortunately, she'd missed a whole English lesson about verbs as well and needed someone to teach it to her. Mom was too busy at the gallery and Buffy never would, so here she was. Just her luck. She'd probably get stuck with some stupid high schooler that was only tutoring so it'd count as community service for college.

            She shouldn't have been surprised when Willow Rosenberg sat down next to her, but she was.

            "Hey, Dawnie," Willow smiled. "What are you doing here?"

            "Making up stuff from when I was sick."

            Willow gave her an understanding look. "Ah. It kinda makes you wish you were still sick, doesn't it?"

            "Yeah," Dawn said wistfully. "At least I'd be at home."

            Willow smiled again. "And Xander would be over every day, telling you to feel better."

            "Yeah," Dawn said again. Then she realized what had happened. "What—? How did you…?

            Willow actually laughed a little bit. "First crush?"

            Dawn looked around, a little embarrassed. "Yeah," she said quietly.

            Willow began unpacking Dawn's backpack for her, piling the make-up work on the table. "How about we go out for milkshakes when we finish here? We can talk a little."

            Dawn nodded, feeling honored that someone so much older and cooler would pay her this much attention. "Okay."

            "Okay," Willow said. "Now, what do we have to do?"

                                                            *            *            *

            Willow pushed open the door to the Espresso Pump. The weather outside was gray and rainy. It was the perfect day for a milkshake. She and Dawn got in line. 

            "What flavor do you want?" Willow asked her. "It's on me."

            Dawn looked carefully at the menu hung on the wall behind the counter, trying to find something inexpensive. But, of course, this was the Espresso Pump, a place where the word 'inexpensive' just didn't exist.

            "Chocolate, please," Dawn said, remembering her manners.

            The redhead gave her an approving look. "That's my favorite, too," she said. Then she turned to the man at the counter. "Two large chocolate milkshakes, please."

            The man smiled as he rang up their orders. "I wish my daughter would take _her_ sister out for milkshakes," he said. 

            Dawn giggled a little. The thought of being Willow's sister was really cool. _Willow_ would never give her a wedgie for reading her diary. 

            They got their milkshakes and sat down at one of the tables. Willow poked at her milkshake with her straw, while Dawn sucked on her straw as hard as she could. No luck. She'd have to wait until it melted a little bit. 

            "So…you like Xander, huh?" Willow asked.

            "Yeah, I guess so," Dawn said, looking down at her milkshake, suddenly a little shy. "Promise you won't tell anybody?"

            Willow nodded solemnly. "Cross my heart, hope to…never mind. I promise."

            Dawn relaxed a little bit and used her straw to try stirring her shake. "He's so nice and funny."

            Willow smiled. "I know. I've known him since I was really little. He's a Barbie thief, though."

            Dawn giggled. The thought of Willow and Xander as little kids, kids younger than Dawn herself, even—was just kind of funny.

            Suddenly, out of the blue, Willow asked, "Dawnie, do you like chess?"

            Dawn looked at her new friend. "I've never played."

            "Oh, you should," Willow said, taking a sip from her milkshake. "I think you'd like it."

            Dawn shrugged. "I don't know."

            "Tell you what," Willow said. "You. Me. Friday night. Buffy's got patr—Buffy's busy, I think, so we can have a girls' night, if it's okay with your mom."

            Dawn smiled, nodding enthusiastically. "Great! I'm pretty sure it would be okay."

            "And we can talk about Xander or school or whatever else you want to talk about."

            "Yay!" Dawn said. "I can hardly wait!" She took a big gulp of her milkshake.

            Willow smiled, happy that Dawn had accepted. Buffy had mentioned that Dawn was having trouble making friends at school. 

            Dawn was thrilled. Her sister's friends were so _cool._

So how come they hung out with Buffy?

************************************************************************

Okay, so there was very little Dawn and Xander interaction. The story was mostly Willow and Dawn. I'm sorry, I'm not good at writing romance, even if it is just the first crush puppy love kind. 

Oh, well. Hope you enjoyed.

*mistymidnight*


	2. Chess

Here it is, the next chapter!

AUTHOR'S NOTES:  This was originally meant to be a stand-alone story, but due to overwhelming demand (Whoo! Two requests!) I shall continue on with the saga of Dawn's first crush and her bonding with Willow. No, this isn't fem slash. It's friendly bonding. 

            Also, you can visit my *new* Buffy site. Here's the address (hopefully the html will go thru right and I'll have a nice, neat, link. If not, oh well. Sorry.

            a href= Buffy Site/a         

            If you read the fanfic I have here (Staking My Sister, Monkey Brains, Breakfast At Dawn, Date, and Babysitting and the ASOS) you can see a pic that I made myself for each story. Some are better than others, and they may all stink, I don't know, but take a look anyway if you so desire. _I_'m proud of them. :-)

            I've also been nominated for the Shades of Grey Awards and the Barefoot Awards by gidgetgirl. Thank you for the nominations, here's hoping for the best! (In case you haven't noticed by reading my site and my user profile, I'm really obsessed with this award stuff.)

CHAPTER TWO 

CHESS

(A/N: Before I start, let me just say that I know nothing about chess, except that there are these little things shaped like royalty that you move around on a checkerboard. And that when you win, you yell "Checkmate!" Okay, I'm done now.)

            Dawn stared hesitantly at the chessboard. "What do I do?" she asked tentatively.

            Willow leaned forward and examined the board, her brow furrowed. Then her face lit up. 

            "Dawnie, you won!" she exclaimed, sliding Dawn's king to the proper game-winning place.

            "I did?" Dawn asked, hardly believing it.

            The redhead nodded enthusiastically, her hair bouncing up and down. "That's great, Dawn! On your fifth game and everything! You pick up on this stuff fast."

            Dawn beamed at the compliment. Everyone always talked about Buffy. _So pretty,_ they said. _So much potential. It's just awful about her…problems._ No one ever directly mentioned Buffy's "problems" with violence. Not even Dawn. She didn't understand it, either. Buffy was okay, for the most part. _No,_ Dawn told herself, _in all honesty, Buffy's a great person. _Dawn couldn't figure out how such a good person had such an awful record. So far the only possible explanation was some kind of identity theft. Or maybe Buffy had an evil twin. When Dawn was little, Mom would always tell her stories about how each person had a twin somewhere in the world. Buffy's version of the story made each person have an evil twin. 

            Dawn had one day wondered aloud if _she_ was the evil half of the set, and if maybe her good twin lived in Taiwan or something. Buffy had snorted and said, "If  you're the bad half, Dawnie, your good half must be nauseatingly good." 

            Even after she had looked up the word nauseating, Dawn couldn't figure out if Buffy had insulted her or paid her a compliment.

            Willow shook her out of her thoughts. "What do you say? Another game?" She began resetting the board.

            "Actually," Dawn said, "I'm kind of getting sick of chess."

            Willow gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, you too?" she asked. She smiled at Dawn. "I was hoping you'd say that."

            Dawn giggled. Willow was so cool.

            "So what do you want to do then?" Willow asked. She gestured around the Summers' living room. "Do you have any other board games?"

            "Only Scrabble," Dawn said. "I hate Scrabble." The reason Dawn hated Scrabble was because of the fact that she always played against Mom and Buffy, whose vocabularies were much wider than Dawn's. Plus the fact that Buffy and Mom got away with non-words like "um" and  "slayage". Where Buffy had come up with the word "slayage" was anyone's guess.

            "How come?" Willow asked. "Scrabble is a perfectly nice game. Nothing evil."

            "Evil?" Dawn asked.

            "Uhh, you know, like Jumanji," the redhead stammered. "Have you ever read Jumanji, Dawnie?"

            "It's a book?" Dawn asked. "I thought it was a movie."

            "It is," Willow said, "but it's based on the book. _Loosely_ based, I might add."

            "Oh."

            Willow turned to face Dawn. "Remind me to pick it up at the library some time this week. I think you'd like it. There're cool pictures."

            "Cool," Dawn said. Then she asked, "Would you like to see my room?"

            "Sure," Willow nodded. She really enjoyed hanging out with Dawn. She was like a little sister, but she was mature for her age, too. It was a nice break from fighting the forces of darkness.

            The two girls made their way upstairs to Dawn's room, which had pale yellow walls and a bed with a pastel quilt on top. A framed picture of Dawn and Buffy at much younger ages hung on the wall above a framed "Perfect Attendance" certificate and a blue ribbon for a school writing contest. A bulletin board on the wall by the door held a more recent snapshot of Dawn and Buffy at the beach sitting by a sandcastle. Another picture of Dawn and her mother was tacked to the bulletin board. They were hugging.

            On the other side of the board was a certificate for Dawn making the honor roll. Below that was a strip of pictures, probably taken at the photo booth at the mall. Buffy and Dawn were smiling in the first picture, making funny faces in the second, laughing hysterically in the third, and partially hidden by shopping bags in the fourth. Willow had never seen Buffy and Dawn get along that well before.

            Dawn looked at Willow. "I don't like my room very much," she admitted. "It's babyish.

            "No it isn't," Willow disagreed, meaning every word. "It's very pretty and very feminine, that's all."

            Dawn nodded, looking as if she'd gotten a whole new perspective of her room.

            Willow checked the clock on the wall. "Dawnie," she said regretfully, "I have to go home."

            Dawn looked disappointed. "Will you come over tomorrow?"

            "I'll try," Willow smiled. "We didn't get to talk that much about you-know-who," she said, grinning to indicate that 'you-know-who' was Xander. "We will next time, though, if you want."

            Dawn nodded. "Okay," she said. "See you later!"

********************************************************************************************

**Next time: Willow and Dawn hang out some more. Dawn invites Willow to her birthday party.** 

PLEASE FEEDBACK!!!

*mistymidnight*


	3. Special Guest Willow Rosenberg

Sorry it took so long to post, but here it is! Finally.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Uhh, what is there to say? I've been kinda sapped for creativity in regards to this story lately. Oh well.

CHAPTER THREE

SPECIAL GUEST WILLOW ROSENBERG

            Dawn flung open the door just as the doorbell rang.

            "Hi!" she said to Willow, opening the door wide and grinning even wider.

            "Hey, Dawnie!" Willow greeted her, handing her a book. "Jumanji," she explained. 

            "Ooh, goody!" Dawn exclaimed, soaking in the sight of the title picture. It was black and white, excellently painted, as far as she could tell. "Read it to me?" she asked Willow. She felt a little babyish, asking to be read to, but she could tell Willow didn't mind.

            "Sure, Dawnie," she said, taking the book back and walking into the living room to the couch. Dawn settled down on the couch next to her.

            Willow opened the book and read, "The game under the tree looked like a hundred others Peter and Judy had at home. But they were bored and restless and, looking for something interesting to do, thought they'd give Jumanji a try…"

            Willow closed the book with a small _snap!_ and Dawn smiled. 

            "I liked that story."

            "Me too," Willow said. "It used to be my favorite. I was actually a little afraid to play board games for awhile. That's when I started playing chess."

            "Does Xander know how to play chess?" Dawn asked.

            Willow grinned a little. "Nah, he's too impatient. He sits there and goes, 'Will, for the love of all things holy, will you please hurry up?'" Willow smiled a little more, then continued, "And that's when I've only been thinking for about thirty seconds!"

            Dawn smiled too. "He's nice, though."

            Willow nodded. "It more than makes up for his lack of patience," she agreed. 

            Dawn smiled a little. "I think he's so funny…and nice, you know."

            "You don't even see him during school," Willow told her. "That's when he comes up with some of his best Xander-isms. Although you probably wouldn't find most of them funny."

            "But Xander's always funny."

            Willow laughed a bit. "I don't mean to say that the things he says _aren't _funny, just that you probably wouldn't _get_ them, you know?"

            "Oh."

            There was a slight pause, then Willow asked, "So, what's new with you, Dawnie?"

            "Nothing really," Dawn said flatly, then brightened. "Ooh! My birthday's in two weeks!"

            "Well, happy early birthday!" Willow said, patting her on the back. "What are you guys doing to celebrate?"

            "I'm having a little party," Dawn said. "You're invited," she added a little shyly, "if you want to come."

            Willow smiled at Dawn's hesitance to invite her. _She probably thinks that I think a kid birthday party is 'uncool'. I actually think it's sweet!_ "Of course I want to come!" she assured Dawn. "I'll just have to check the date and make sure it's clear."

            "Okay, cool," Dawn said, hoping she didn't sound overeager. Willow was actually her first real friend in Sunnydale. Dawn didn't like the other kids very much, but that was okay, because they didn't really like her either.

            "Great," she added. She had a whole new thing to look forward to.

Doncha just love fluff?

Next time: Dawn's party, Buffy enters our little story, and Xander remains oblivious to both Willow and Dawn's crushes. 

Okay, I know it was short, but it's late and I have to get to bed if I ever want to get to church tomorrow morning. 

            Toodles!

mistymidnight


	4. Jerry, My Sister is Evil and Steals All ...

Crush 

**Chapter 4**

**"Jerry, My Sister is Evil and Steals All My Friends."**

**Author's Notes: **Sorry it took so long to update, but my own selfishness finally got to me and I'm itching for reviews that aren't flames. (That's you're cue, leave now, all you flamers. Everyone else, REVIEW!)

            Also, please visit my site! (Check my user profile for the address.)

            This is the second time I'm posting this chapter, because something got really, really screwed up and only one sentence showed up last time. Why? I don't know. Sorry.

Chapter Four 

**"Jerry, My Sister is Evil and Steals All My Friends."**

            "Dawn! Telephone!" Mrs. Summers called to Dawn, who sat on the couch watching TV. Dawn jumped up and ran to take the cordless phone from her mother, who was getting ready to run off to a gallery showing "Hello?"

            "Hi, Dawnie, it's me." Willow's voice said over the telephone line. "I've got some good news! Your birthday party day's all clear. Got any ideas for presents you want?"

            Dawn considered. "Not really." Mrs. Summers left, blowing a kiss at Dawn as she went out the door.

            "Oh, come on," Willow said. "You must want _something_."

            "It's not that I don't," Dawn explained, "it's just that I can't think of any thing I want really, really bad. Make it a surprise."

            She could practically _hear_ Willow grin. "Sure, Dawnie," she said. "Listen, I gotta go. Studying and everything. Talk to you later."

            "Bye, Willow," Dawn said, hanging up the phone and turning around, coming face to face with Buffy.

            "You were talking to Willow?" Buffy asked. "What'd she want?"

            "None of your business," Dawn said, heading back for the family room to watch TV some more.

            "'None of my business'?" Buffy demanded. "when my best friend calls me and you hang up without even leaving a message—"

            Dawn spun around. "Did it ever occur to you that she wasn't calling for you?"

            Buffy frowned. "Why would it?"

            "Because you're not the center of the world, Buffy. She's not only _your_ friend. She's allowed to have friends besides you and Xander, you know."

            "How come you always have to butt into my life?" Buffy cried. "I can't even have my own friends! Do I have to share _everything_ with you?"

            "Not everything," Dawn said, just to get on her sister's nerves. "You've got your own stupid boyfriend."

            "He is not stupid!" Buffy yelled. "And he's not my boyfriend! Okay, maybe he is. But maybe not. I'm not sure. He—why don't you just leave me alone? Go play with your Barbies or something."

            "No one plays with Barbies anymore," Dawn retorted, "especially not me. Which you'd know if you paid attention to me at all!"

            "Oh, you want attention?" Buffy asked, her voice like acid. "I thought you got enough from my _best friend Willow_."

            "Oh, so it's a contest?" Dawn demanded. "Who she likes better?"

            "It most certainly is not a contest!" Buffy shouted. "It's a matter of you're not supposed to have the same friends as me."

            "Why not?" Dawn asked.

            "Because it's…just…not…right."

            "Oh, yes, because Buffy's _always_ right," Dawn sneered. "All hail Queen Buffy, Ruler of All."

            "You know what? I don't need this. You're too dumb to waste my time with."

            "Well you're too dumb to know that you're dumb enough to be wasting your time!"

            "Get a life, Dawn."

            "After you, my darling, _darling_ sister."

            "It's no wonder you don't have any other friends."

            "It's no wonder Willow would rather be my friend than yours. Don't worry, it's not your fault. I'm sure that nasty case of freakiness will wear off soon."

            Buffy gave a huge frustrated sigh and slammed the front door on her way out.

            "You can't leave me alone! Mom will kill you!"

            "Call _Willow_," Buffy replied angrily, her voice muffled. "I'm sure she'd be _happy_ to baby sit you."

            "I hate you!" Dawn yelled at the front door. No one answered. So Dawn sunk down to the floor and cried.

            More to come!

            REVIEW!!!!!!!!

            mistymidnight


	5. Putting Up With The Rain

Crush 

**Chapter 5**

**Putting Up With The Rain**

**Author's Notes: **I've been really busy with my site lately, and I haven't been writing so much. I published another short Dawn fic yesterday, but I was in the mood to update. So…

Chapter Four 

**Putting Up With The Rain**

            Dawn wiped her eyes again and sat up on the couch. She was still alone. Buffy was still gone, and she hadn't called. _She's probably with that stupid Angel guy,_ Dawn thought. _Stupid Buffy and her stupid boyfriend._

            "Everything's stupid!" she said aloud. "I hate the whole stupid world and every stupid thing in it."

            She paused. "I'm going to kill myself!" she screamed at the wall, knowing full well that she never really would. But she felt a little better. "I'm going to die and you'll all be sorry! And I'll make a will and leave everything to Willow. Oh, and Xander and Mom. But stupid Buffy won't get _anything_. Because she's stupid."

            She sniffled and wiped her eyes again, because she was still crying. She couldn't stop. "No body loves me," she sang, trying to cheer herself up. "Everybody hates me, I guess I'll go eat worms." Unfortunately, she made a very wrong song choice and ended up feeling even more melancholy than she had before.

            "Oh, the sun'll come out…tomorrow…" She tried again, and her voice cracked. She cleared her throat to try to get rid of the lump stuck there, but it wouldn't go away.

            Dawn knew what she was supposed to do. She was supposed to apologize to Buffy when she got back. But what Dawn was _supposed_ to do and what Dawn _had _to do were two entirely different things. And what Dawn had to do was call Willow.

            The doorbell rang and Dawn got up to open it. Willow rushed in and hugged her. "What's the matter, Dawnie? It'll be okay, whatever it is—"

            Her kindness made Dawn start crying all over again, and she cursed herself for it. _She'll probably think I'm a big crybaby,_ Dawn thought, _and the last person who doesn't mind having me around will go away, too._

            "I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eyes.

            "For what?" Willow asked. "For crying?" She looked at Dawn and realized that was the truth. "Don't be. Everybody cries sometimes. I do. It helps me feel better. When you cry, it's kinda like you get rid of all the bad feelings. Your tears wash them all out."

            Dawn nodded and gave her a watery smile.

            "Someone, I think Dolly Parton, said 'If you want the rainbow, you'll have to put up with the rain'," Willow continued. "It's just a rainy day for you, Dawnie. But soon the sun'll come out and there will be a beautiful rainbow and it'll be worth all the rain." She smiled. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

            Dawn nodded. "But I'm all mixed up. I don't know whether to feel sad or guilty or mad at Buffy. I mean, I feel all three."

            "Why, exactly?" Willow asked. "You never really said."

            "We got in a fight."

            "Over what?"

            Dawn didn't want to say "Over you," because she didn't want Willow to feel guilty, or like she was owned by the Summers sisters. So she just said, "Sister stuff."

            Willow wasn't going to rest, though, until she found the source of the problem. Buffy  was her best friend, and Dawn was a pretty sweet kid. She didn't want them to be fighting. "Well, I don't have a sister," she reminded Dawn, "so you'll have to clarify what 'sister stuff' really is."

            Dawn looked down and mumbled, "Wegotinafidovoo."

            Willow scrunched up her face. "Come again?"

            Dawn sighed. "We got in a fight over you," she said quietly, almost ashamed. "Buffy wants her own friends and her own life, but I really like hanging out with you. Especially since Buffy's always off on her own."

            "Well, I have to say, I'm kind of flattered."

            "Huh?" That was the last thing Dawn expected Willow to say. She expected her to be mad, or at least scold her for treating people like possessions.

            "In case you didn't notice," Willow said, smiling gently, "people don't tend to fight over me. Do you know how bad I wish sometimes that I had boys fighting tooth and nail for a date with me? Or how badly I wish Xander was one of them?" She sighed sadly. "No such luck, Dawnie. Seems we're kind of like the outcasts. And outcasts have to stick together."

            The front door opened and Buffy came in.  "Willow," she said flatly, then announced, "I'm taking a shower and going to bed." Before anyone could reply, she was upstairs.

            Willow got off the couch and smiled at Dawn. "It can't rain forever, Dawnie," she said, then grabbed her coat. "Do you still want me at your birthday?"

            Dawn nodded.

            "Okay, then," Willow grinned. "See you later."

            Dawn smiled slightly and repeated to herself, "It can't rain forever." She stood up and trudged upstairs. "And it won't."

Review, please!

mistymidnight


	6. Chilly

**Crush **

**mistymidnight**

**Author's Notes: **At long last, a new chapter! I've been updating Nonsense mostly lately, in case you were wondering why this story was just sitting here, dormant, and getting that icky green scum around the edges.

**Chapter Six**

**Chilly**

"Buffy?" Dawn asked tentatively when she reached the top of the stairs. She head the shower running. "Are you really in the shower?"

She heard Buffy's voice say irritably from the other side of the door, "No, Dawn, I'm brushing my teeth. I just like the way the shower sounds."

Dawn lost a little of her fragile confidence at Buffy's sarcastic tone. "Buffy," she said, "I'm sorry."

"What's that?" Buffy said. "I can't hear you."

"I'M SORRY!" Dawn screamed as loudly as she possibly could. "I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!"

"Could you speak up? I think you've been hanging out with _Willow_ a little too much. You're talking quiet."

Dawn suddenly realized that Buffy could hear her perfectly. She just didn't want to listen.

"You know what? Fine. I'm not sorry! I never really was! I just don't like you to be mad at me!"

"Oh, like you care," Buffy grumbled. The water shut off and Dawn head Buffy get out of the shower.

"Willow told me that if I want the rainbow, I have to put up with the rain," Dawn said. "I'm trying. I don't like it."

The bathroom door opened and Buffy stuck her head out. Her hair was wet and stringy and she was wrapped up in a navy blue towel. "Dolly Parton said that, right?"

Dawn nodded.

Buffy made a disgusted noise. "Great. Now my best friend is quoting a woman who has her chest insured." The door shut again.

Dawn made an angry face and stomped off to her room, slamming the door as she went in. A few minutes later, she heard Buffy do the same. Not to be one-upped by Buffy, Dawn opened the door again and then slammed it shut. She heard something thump in Buffy's room. Dawn picked up a stuffed animal and threw it at the wall, then stomped her feet as hard as she could against the bedroom floor and screamed. When she finished, she flopped down on the bed and fell asleep out of pure exhaustion.

.

"Earth to Buffster. Come in, Buffster."

"Huh?" Buffy snapped out of her trance-like state and looked up to see Xander.

"I asked you why Willow isn't sitting with us today," Xander said.

"Oh," Buffy said. She ticked her gaze around the lunchroom. There was Cordelia, sitting with Harmony and the cheerleaders and the jocks. There were the Goths, the drama geeks, the swim team, and the nerds. Where was Willow?

"She's eating in the library," Xander said, as if reading her thoughts.

"I—I have to go," Buffy said.

"Okay," Xander said with an "I-know-there's-more-than-you're-telling-me" tone of voice.

"It's nothing, really," Buffy insisted.

"Mm-hm." He regarded her dubiously. "Can I have your fortune cookie if you're done eating?"

"No," Buffy said, snatching the cookie. "I like fortune cookies."

"That's unfortunate for me," Xander said. "Get it? "Un-fortune-ate?"

"Uh-huh," Buffy said distractedly, making her way out of the cafeteria.

.

"I just don't want to get stuck in the middle of you and Dawn," Willow said. "That's all."

"That makes sense," Buffy replied coldly. "You already seem to have picked sides."

Willow arched an eyebrow. "That isn't fair."

"Neither is the fact that you'd rather side with my sister over me, your best friend!"

"Girls," Giles said quietly, "this is a library. Perhaps you should…"

"Shut up, Giles!" they said in unison, and then they went back to arguing.

"You're overreacting!" Willow yelled. "Not everything has to be about you, you know."

"Oh yeah, everything's all about me," Buffy said sarcastically. "I get to do whatever I want. Did it ever occur to you, Willow, that I don't patrol because it gives me the giggles?"

"Right, right, I'm sorry," Willow said just as sarcastically. "I just forgot that we're all supposed to do what Buffy wants and none of us are supposed to run our own lives."

"Perhaps if you talk this out…" Giles tried. He was ignored.

"How dare you talk to me like that?" Buffy demanded. "I thought you were my friend, Willow!"

"And I thought you were _my_ friend too."

"I guess not."

"Just don't talk to me."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

Both girls sat down at the library table. After eyeing one another angrily for a minute, Buffy spoke up. "Giles, tell her to get out of my library."

Giles cleared his throat. "Willow, erm, it seems—"

"Tell her it's a free country," Willow shot back. "Or maybe she doesn't know that because she's always _cutting_ history."

"Tell her what I do is more important than a dumb old history class," Buffy commanded.

"I am not your bloody pony express!" Giles shouted, then retreated to his office.

Silence reigned.

Xander entered the room, witnessed the scene, then took a step back. "Whoa," he muttered. "Is it just me, or is it chilly in here?"

Neither girl said anything.

The library door opened and the click-clack of high heels announce Cordelia's arrival. "Oh, geez," she said. "What's going on? Is the world ending?"

"I'm not sure," Xander said. Then he asked the girls, "Where's Giles?"

"Don't ask me," Buffy said bitterly. "Ask Willow. She seems to know everything."

"Tell Buffy I can hear her."

"Why don't you just tell her yourself?" Xander asked, slightly puzzled.

"Duh, Mr. Get-With-The-Program," Cordelia said haughtily, walking toward Giles's office. "They're not talking to each other. It's something we girls do." She knocked on the door. "Giles, you can come out. There's a sane person in the library now." She glanced at Xander. "Plus a really geeky one."

"Hey!" Xander, Willow, and Buffy all said at once.

"It's true," Cordelia insisted, stepping away from the door to let Giles through.

"You know what? Enough of this. I'm leaving." And with that, Buffy stalked out of the library.

Cordelia sighed. "Uh-oh. Cranky Slayer. I actually pity the vampire community."

.

mistymidnight


End file.
